NPPF 2026: what changed and what it means for land

The headline change: policy codes replace paragraph numbers

The August 2026 Framework is organised into thematic chapters, each with a letter prefix, and policy is cited by code rather than by paragraph. Plan-making is PM, decision-making DM, sustainable development S, climate CC, homes HO, economy E, town centres TC, communications CO, clean energy and water W, minerals M, land L, Green Belt GB, design DP, transport TR, healthy communities HC, pollution P, flood risk F, the natural environment N and the historic environment HE. Annexes A to F cover implementation, the glossary, information requirements, housing calculations and supply, Green Belt assessments and flood risk.

In practice this means the familiar shorthand no longer works. “Paragraph 11” and “paragraph 14d” do not exist in the new document. Any appraisal, representation or heads of terms still citing paragraph numbers is citing a superseded Framework, and an inspector will notice.

The presumption is now S3, S4 and S5

The presumption in favour of sustainable development sits in policy S3, with S4 applying it within settlements and S5 outside them. The tilted-balance language has been recast: rather than the old “significantly and demonstrably” formulation, the test asks whether the benefits of the proposal are substantially outweighed by the adverse impacts assessed against the Framework as a whole.

The trigger has not gone away. Where an authority cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, or where delivery has fallen below the Housing Delivery Test threshold, the presumption engages and the relevant plan policies carry reduced weight. What has changed is the wording of the balance and the location of the policy, so representations should be re-drafted rather than re-labelled.

Green Belt: GB2, GB3, GB6, GB7 and Annex E

Green Belt policy is consolidated into the GB chapter. GB2 sets out the Green Belt purposes used to assess a parcel's contribution, GB3 governs altering boundaries through plan-making, GB6 controls development within the Green Belt and GB7 lists what is not inappropriate development.

Grey belt is defined in the Annex B glossary, and GB7(1)(g) provides the development route where the tests are met. Annex E sets out how Green Belt assessments should be carried out. The practical effect is that a grey belt argument now has to be constructed from the Annex B definition and the GB2 purposes, with reasoning that development would not fundamentally undermine the remaining Green Belt in the area.

• GB2 — Green Belt purposes, used to test a parcel's contribution.
• GB3 — altering Green Belt boundaries through plan-making.
• GB6 — control of development in the Green Belt.
• GB7 — development which is not inappropriate, including grey belt at GB7(1)(g).
• GB8 — the Golden Rules for major development released or permitted in the Green Belt.
• Annex B — the glossary containing the grey belt definition; Annex E — Green Belt assessment method.

The Golden Rules are now policy GB8

Where major residential development comes forward on land released from, or permitted in, the Green Belt, policy GB8 attaches requirements: affordable housing at the level set by an up-to-date plan policy, or 15 percentage points above the highest otherwise applicable requirement until such a policy is in place, together with necessary infrastructure improvements and provision of accessible new or improved green space.

For anyone appraising a Green Belt or grey belt opportunity, this belongs in the viability model from the outset rather than being treated as a late negotiation. The affordable uplift is the single largest value variable on most grey belt schemes.

Housing land supply and delivery: HO3 with Annex D

Housing land supply and the Housing Delivery Test sit in policy HO3, with the calculation method in Annex D. The supply position is still the practical gateway to the presumption, so the first question on any site remains whether the authority can demonstrate a five-year supply and how it performed in the most recent delivery measurement.

Because those figures move, they should be read from the authority's own published position statement and annual monitoring report rather than assumed from a previous year.

Density and well-connected stations: L3 and TR3

Policy L3 addresses achieving appropriate densities, and it introduces minimum density expectations around stations: a baseline for land within a reasonable walking distance of a station, and a higher figure where services are frequent. Policy TR3 addresses sustainable transport and location, and GB7 interacts with the station tests in a Green Belt context.

This is the change with the most obvious spatial consequence. Land within roughly 800 metres of a well-connected station is treated differently from otherwise identical land further out, which reorders the priority list on many portfolios.

What to do with an appraisal written before August 2026

Anything prepared under the December 2024 Framework needs a review rather than a find-and-replace. The policy codes, the wording of the presumption balance, the grey belt definition and the Golden Rules figure have all moved.

• Re-cite every policy reference to the August 2026 codes.
• Re-run the presumption argument against the S3 to S5 wording.
• Rebuild any grey belt case from the Annex B definition and the GB2 purposes.
• Add the GB8 affordable and infrastructure requirements to the viability appraisal.
• Test the site against the L3 station distance and density expectations.
• Refresh the housing land supply and Housing Delivery Test figures from the authority's current published evidence.